Artificer (Pathfinder)
In Eberron, magic is almost technology. Spellcasters specialize in certain forms of that technology, while artificers tinker with its fundamental workings. Artificers understand magic on a different level from spellcasters, and do not cast spells as wizards and clerics do. They have an amazing facility with magic items and constructs, and in many ways, they keep the magical world of Eberron running. THE ARTIFICER ---- Alignment: Any. Hit Die: d8. Class Skills The artificer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha). Skill Points at Each: 4 + Int modifier. CLASS FEATURES All of the following are class features of the artificer. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Artificers are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields). Infusions: An artificer is not a spellcaster, but he does have the ability to imbue items with magical infusions. Infusions are neither arcane nor divine; they are drawn from the artificer infusion list (see Chapter 5: Magic). They function just like spells and follow all the rules for spells. For example, an infusion can be dispelled, it will not function in an antimagic area, and an artificer must make a Concentration check if injured while imbuing an item with an infusion. An artificer can imbue an item with any infusion from the list without preparing the infusion ahead of time. Unlike a sorcerer or bard, he does not select a subset of the available infusions as his known infusions; he has access to every infusion on the list that is of a level he can use. It is possible for an artificer to learn infusions that are not on the normal artificer infusion list. These might include ancient infusions he finds in the ruins of Xen'drik or secret infusions known only to the members of certain guilds or organizations. When he encounters such an infusion, an artificer can attempt to learn it by making a Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level). If this check succeeds, he adds the infusion to his list. If not, he can try again when he gains another rank in Spellcraft, assuming he still has access to the new infusion. To imbue an item with an infusion, an artificer must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the infusion level (Int 11 for lst-level infusions, Int 12 for 2nd-level infusions, and so forth). Infusions never allow saving throws. Like spellcasters, an artificer can use only a certain number of infusions of a particular level per day. His base daily infusion allotment is given on the accompanying table. In addition, he receives extra infusions per day if he has a sufficiently high Intelligence score (see Table 1—1: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells, page 8 of the Player's Handbook). An artificer's infusions can only be imbued into an item or a construct (including warforged). He cannot, for example, simply imbue an ally with bull's strength. He must instead imbue that ability into an item his ally is wearing. The item then functions as a belt of giant strength for the duration of the infusion. He can, however, imbue bull's strength directly on a construct or a character with the living construct subtype, and infusions such as repair light damage and iron construct function only when imbued on such characters. Many infusions have long casting times, often 1 minute or more. An artificer can spend 1 action point to imbue any infusion in 1 round (like a spell that takes 1 round to cast). Like a spellcaster, an artificer can apply item creation feats and metamagic feats to his infusions. Like a sorcerer, an artificer can apply a metamagic feat to an infusion spontaneously, but doing this requires extra time. An artificer can craft alchemical items as though he were a spellcaster. An artificer cannot automatically use a spell trigger or spell completion item if the equivalent spell appears on his infusion list. For example, an artificer must still employ the Use Magic Device skill to use a wand of light, even though light appears on his infusion list. Each day, an artificer must focus his mind on his infusions. He needs 8 hours of rest, after which he spends 15 minutes concentrating. During this period, the artificer readies his mind to hold his daily allotment of infusions. Without such a period of time to refresh himself, the character does not regain the infusion slots he used up the day before. Any infusions used within the last 8 hours count against the artificer's daily limit. Artificer Knowledge: An artificer can make a special artificer knowledge check with a bonus equal to his artificer level + his Int modifier to detect whether a specific item has a magical aura. The artificer must hold and examine the object for 1 minute. A successful check against DC 15 determines that the object has magical qualities, but does not reveal the specific powers of the item. An artificer cannot take 10 or take 20 on this check. A particular item can only be examined in this fashion one time; if the check fails, the artificer can learn no more about that object. Artisan Bonus: An artificer gains a +2 bonus on Use Magic Device checks to activate an item of a kind for which he has the prerequisite item creation feat. For example, an artificer who has the Craft Wand feat gains a +2 bonus on checks to use a spell from a wand. Disable Trap: An artificer can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20. Finding a nonmagical trap has a DC of at least 20, or higher if it is well hidden. Finding a magic trap has a DC of 25 + the level of the spell used to create the trap. An artificer can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. Usually the DC is 25 + the level of the spell used to create the trap. An artificer who beats a trap's DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it. Item Creation (Ex): An artificer can create a magic item even if he does not have access to the spells that are prerequisites for the item. The artificer must make a successful Use Magic Device check (DC 20 + caster level) to emulate each spell normally required to create the item. Thus, to make a lst-level wand of magic missile, an artificer would need a Use Magic Device check result of 21 or higher. To create a bottle of air (caster level 7th), he would need a check result of 27 or higher to emulate the water breathing prerequisite. The artificer must make a successful check for each prerequisite for each item he makes. If he fails a check, he can try again each day until the item is complete (see Creating Magic Items, page 282 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If he comes to the end of the crafting time and he has still not successfully emulated one of the powers, he can make one final check—his last-ditch effort, even if he has already made a check that day. If that check also fails, then the creation process fails and the time and money expended to craft the item are lost. For purposes of meeting item prerequisites, an artificer's effective caster level equals his artificer level +2. If the item duplicates a spell effect, however, it uses the artificer's actual level as its caster level. Costs are always determined using the item's minimum caster level or the artificer's actual level (if it is higher). Thus, a 3rd-level artificer can make a scroll of fireball, since the minimum caster level for fireball is 5th. He pays the normal cost for making such a scroll with a caster level of 5th: 5 X 3 X 12.5 = 187 gp and 5 sp, plus 15 XP. But the scroll's actual caster level is only 3rd, and it produces a weak fireball that deals only 3d6 points of damage. An artificer can also make Use Magic Device checks to emulate nonspell requirements, including alignment and race, using the normal DCs for the skill. He cannot emulate skill or feat requirements, however, including item creation feat prerequisites. He must meet the caster level prerequisite, including the minimum level to cast a spell he stores in a potion, wand, or scroll. An artificer's infusions do not meet spell prerequisites for creating magic items. For example, an artificer must still employ the Use Magic Device skill to emulate the light spell to create a wand of light, even though light appears on his infusion list. Bonus Feat: An artificer gains every item creation feat as a bonus feat at or near the level at which it becomes available to spellcasters. He gets Scribe Scroll as a bonus feat at 1st level, Brew Potion at 2nd level, Craft Wondrous Item at 3rd level, Craft Magic Arms and Armor at 5th level, Craft Wand at 7th level, Craft Rod at 9th level, Craft Staff at 12th level, and Forge Ring at 14th level. In addition, an artificer gains a bonus feat at 4th level and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, 18th, and 20th). For each of these bonus feats, the artificer must choose a metamagic feat or a feat from the following list: Attune Magic Weapon, Craft Construct (see the Monster Manual, page 303), Exceptional Artisan, Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan, Wand Mastery. Craft Homunculus (Ex): At 4th level, an artificer can create a homunculus as if he had the Craft Construct feat. He must emulate the spell requirements (arcane eye, mending, and mirror image) as normal for making a magic item, and he must pay all the usual gold and XP costs (though he can spend points from his craft reserve). An artificer can also upgrade an existing homunculus that he owns, adding 1 Hit Die at a cost of 2,000 gp and 160 XP. If an artificer gives his homunculus more than 6 Hit Dice, it becomes a Small creature and advances as described in the Monster Manual (+4 Str, —2 Dex, damage increases to Id6). The homunculus also gains 10 extra hit points for being a Small construct. An artificer's homunculus can have as many Hit Dice as its master's Hit Dice minus 2. No matter how many Hit Dice it has, a homunculus never grows larger than Small. Salvage: At 5th level, an artificer gains the ability to salvage the gold piece value from a magic item and use those funds to create another magic item. The artificer must spend a day with the item, and he must also have the appropriate item creation feat for the item he is salvaging. After one day, the item is destroyed and the artificer gains the gp value it took to create the item. This value is cannot be spent as gold, it may only be used in the creation of another magic item. For example, an artificer wants to salvage a wand of lightning bolts that has 20 charges. Originally created (like all wands) with 50 charges, it required 5625 gp when initially made, or approximately 113 gp (5625 divided by 50) per charge. The artificer is able to recover the gp value from the remaining charges. He gains the value of (113 x 20) 2260 gp to put toward the creation of another item. Metamagic Spell Trigger (Su): At 6th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell trigger item (generally a wand). He must have the appropriate item creation feat for the spell trigger item he is using. Using this ability expends additional charges from the item equal to the number of effective spell levels the metamagic feat would add to a spell. For example, an artificer can quicken a spell cast from a wand by spending 5 charges (4 additional charges), empower the spell by spending 3 charges, or trigger it silently by spending 2 charges. The Still Spell feat confers no benefit when applied to a spell trigger item. An artificer cannot use this ability when using a spell trigger item that does not have charges, such as prayer beads. Rush Job (Ex): At 6th Level, an artificer grows skilled enough at crafting that he can attempt to craft a magical item more quickly. However, doing so is more difficult, and as such, the difficulty of any necessary Use Magic Device checks increases proportionately. Even if the item would not normally require a Use Magic Device check, creating an item as a rush job does require a check. For each day of reduction in crafting time, add 2 to the difficulty of the use magic device check. If this would reduce the crafting time below one day it instead reduces it along the following progression: 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc. to a max of 1/8 day (a single hour). Even a rush job is mentally taxing and as such, each successive item crafted in the same day increases the difficulty of all necessary checks by 2, cumulatively. Regardless, no more than 8 hours may be spent crafting in a single day. Thus, to make a lst-level wand of magic missile in 1/2 a day (4 hours), an artificer would need a Use Magic Device check result of 23 or higher. To create a bottle of air in a single day (caster level 7th, 7250 base price), he would need a check result of 41 or higher to emulate the water breathing prerequisite. Adaptable Craftsman: At 7th level an artificer's begins experimenting with unusual uses for his crafts. First, an Artificer may now use craft skills to substitute for similar skills. When first obtaining this ability, pick one craft that you have at least 5 ranks in, this craft can now be used in place of related skills, as if the artificer possessed ranks equal to 1/2 his ranks in the chosen craft skill, such as using Craft: Traps to disable traps. The DM determines whether or not the craft can be used in this manner on an individual basis. For example, Craft: Ships could be used to substitute for Profession: Sailor in order to properly tie riggings and understand nautical terms, however it could probably not be used in order to plot a course through shoals. The most common use is to substitute for similar crafts, such as Craft: Cloth and Craft: Clothing. The Artificer gains the ability to use additional crafts in the manner at 11th, 15th, and 19th level. Unusual Craftsmanship: At 10th level, an Artificer's understanding of magical crafting extends into even the most obscure of methods. When an artificer first gains access to this ability he may choose one of the following options. Imbue Weaponry: An artificer with this ability can put charges of magical energy into a weapon, as if it were a wand. This costs just as much as making a wand of the same effect. When all charges are used up, it has no effect on the weapon other than that it no longer functions as a wand. Unusual Enchantment: When an artificer chooses this ability, he chooses one of the following slots: Head, Neck, Shoulders, Waist, Feet, Arms, or Hands. When enchanting an item that uses the designated slot, he may enchant it with effects normally associated with any of the other listed slots. For Example, He could craft a Belt of Intellect or a Cloak of Springing and Striding. This can not be done with the object is physically required for the effect, such as Wings of Flying. This may be chosen multiple times, each time choose a different body slot. Obscure Lore: Choose an item creation feat not normally granted to the Artificer through levels, such as Create Magic Tattoo or Craft Contingent Spell. An Artificer must meet any necessary prerequisites for the feat. This option may be chosen multiple times. Psionic Crafting: This option is only available to Artificers with psionic ability, such as that gained from the Wild Talent Feat. When this option is chosen, Use Psionic Device becomes a class skill; and the Artificer gains a bonus psionic item creation feat related to an item creation feat he already knows. Additionally, all psionic item creation feats are now added to the list of available artificer bonus feats. Potion Mastery: The artificer has become skilled enough a brewing potions that he may now make unusual and powerful potions. Up to 6th level spells can now be made into potions. Unusual Scrolls: The Artificer now has enough understanding of scrolls to write scrolls that violate the normal rules of magic. At this point he may scribe arcane or divine versions of scrolls, even when such spells would not normally be available as such. These scrolls may be used as if they were written for whichever type of magic the artificer chooses. Additionally, when he writes such a scroll, he may designate which spell lists the spell counts as belonging to, for the purposes of using the scroll only. However, these scrolls so twist the normal rules of magic that they can not be used to learn spells, or to write them into books. An artificer learns more styles of unusual craftsmanship at 14th, 17th, and 20th level. Metamagic Spell Completion (Su): At 11th level, an artificer gains the ability to apply a metamagic feat he knows to a spell completion item (generally a scroll). He must have the appropriate item creation feat for the spell completion item he is using. The DC for the Use Magic Device check is equal to 20 + (3 X the modified level of the spell). For example, applying the Empower Spell feat to a scroll of cone of cold, creating a 7th-level effect, has a DC of 20 + (3 X 7), or 41. An artificer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Int modifier. Skill Mastery: At 13th level, an artificer can take 10 when making a Spellcraft or Use Magic Device check, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent him from doing so. This ability circumvents the normal rule that a character may not take 10 on a Use Magic Device check. Artificer Options: A number of the additional options in this book make good choices for an artificer. Feats: Attune Magic Weapon, Bind Elemental, Exceptional Artisan, Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan, Wand Mastery. Artificer Starting Gold: A lst-level artificer begins play with 5d4 X 10 gp (average 125 gp). Category:Class (d20) Category:Class (Pathfinder) Category:Pathfinder